Chapter 59

Chapter 5 Inside Out (7)

***

"Alright, we've arrived. The group we're supposed to trade with should be in front of that small basin over there."

"Oh, I see it too. The sand is piled up strangely in that area. They must have dug in and covered it with something like a tarp."

The professor stretched his stiff body from sitting for so long and checked his weapons.

"Hmm? Need help? There's no need to go that far. This is just a regular trade, after all. It'll be gentlemanly and peaceful."

"Talking about a regular trade. Why don't you put down that bag and talk?"

The professor placed the items for the trade on one side and watched as Ian carefully loaded a similar amount of explosives into his metal bag from the opposite side.

"Hmm? Oh, this? This is just something to keep me calm. Carrying it makes me feel more at ease, and it helps me speak more politely and avoid unnecessary tension. It's a business tip, you know?"

"Vex, is that true?"

In response to the professor's question, Vex shrugged and continued checking his weapons.

"Well, it's time. We agreed to meet at 4:00 PM in the [45.150.204] area."

"But usually, for trades, you choose a location far from your base, right? That pile of junk behind them looks like it could be their base."

"Usually, yes, but this trade is different. It's a pretty big deal. The scavenger group we're trading with is in the middle of a territorial dispute, and the other side is monitoring their every move. They thought that if they tried to trade far from their base, they might lose the goods. So, they decided to risk revealing their base's location to us. In simple terms, it's like saying, 'Since it's hard to move expensive items, let's do a direct trade in front of our house.'"

Clunk, clunk, creak—

Ian loaded the wooden crates and explosives onto the buggy at the back of the vehicle, strapped on his bag, started the engine, and drove forward without hesitation. The professor sat at the back, keeping watch.

Before long, they arrived in front of where the scavengers were hiding, and Ian stopped the vehicle.

"Ahem, hey! We're from Spicy Life! We've brought the items you ordered, so come out and get them!"

Rustle, rustle!

As Ian shouted, the scavengers, who had been hiding under strangely raised sand mounds, revealed themselves.

'Hmm? Oh, this...'

About 12 scavengers, dressed in sand-colored ponchos. Even though they said the items were many and they were in a conflict, the number seemed excessive for a trade.

Ian, either not noticing or not caring, smiled with both his white and silver teeth.

The only one among the group who wasn't in rags but in decent clothes, a thin man, spoke.

"Hey, hey, no need to be on guard, put away your guns, guys! We have our reasons, you know. You might have heard that the trade itself is a trap, or that a spice merchant known for being heartless was hired by those 'Ratlies' to come here..."

"Ah, I know, I know. Meeting new people in the wasteland is as thrilling as it is dangerous. It's fortunate that you don't seem like fools. Well, as you can see, we've brought our items. Shall we settle the accounts?"

"Hahaha! That's great! Don't worry. I'm one of the more reasonable people in the wasteland."

'...Maybe it was a false alarm. But where did this guy go? I haven't seen him since a while ago.'

The trade seemed to be going well, contrary to the professor's concerns. He removed his finger from the trigger and started looking for Vex, who had suddenly disappeared. Suddenly, something shiny flashed in front of his eyes, blinding him.

'A mirror signal? Who could it be?'

Finding the direction of the signal wasn't difficult. There was a part that kept flashing on the scavengers' base, a bit away from the trading spot. A short man was definitely waving something. It was Vex.

'This... is an SOS? A distress signal?'

The professor immediately went into combat mode. Vex, who had gone to scout the enemy camp, had sent a distress signal. Given the limited expression and the risk of drawing attention to not just the target but others, he must have tried to send the information as concisely as possible.

'This means he's in trouble. In other words, this trade is a trap!'

While the professor was thinking this, Ian and the scavengers were still grinning and finalizing the trade.

"Boss! The items are all here! They look good too!"

As the scavenger moving the goods spoke, Ian glanced inside his bag and frowned.

"Hey, scavengers. They say the items are all here on their side. But... it looks like we're a bit short on our side. Do I look like an idiot? Or are you trying to pass off these pieces of brass as gold?"

Clank!

Ian threw a heavy bag in front of the scavenger leader, who gave a nasty laugh.

"Hehehe... You should have just taken it and left, Metal. Drop the act. My men have already confirmed that there's no one else around and only the two of you came. I gave you a hint earlier. I said I'm 'reasonable.' Reasonably speaking, when two fools bring valuable items to our front yard, should we pay the full price and buy them, or should we kill them and take the items for free?"

The scavengers around them, including those moving the crates from the buggy, were grinning. A nasty smile also formed on Ian's face as he glanced at the professor behind him.

"Hehe. So, if we leave the items and take only the brass, you'll spare our lives?"

While Ian was stalling, the professor moved backward, stepped into the path of the scavenger moving the goods, and tripped him.

Stumble—Clunk!

Thud!

"Ouch! Sorry!"

"Don't even think about running! Stay still! If you listen to the boss, we might let you go. Damn, the items are spilling out."

The scavenger bent down to pick up the grenades that had fallen out of the crate.

Clank.

The thin man picked up the bag of brass that Ian had thrown.

"Well, that's what would have happened if you had taken it and left, Metal. But now that you've thrown it in front of me, there's no reason to keep you alive, is there?"

"Hehehe. So, you're going to do it this way again..."

"Damn. If we lose even one, the boss will be angry..."

The scavenger holding the items was collecting the fallen grenades.

23, 24... Where did one go?

"Here."

"25. Just right. Good. If you stay still, hmm? But this..."

The scavenger's face showed a moment of confusion as he took the grenade the professor had kindly picked up. There were no defective ones when he first checked, but the grenade in front of him had its pin pulled.

"Uh, uh..."

"Hehehe. So, it's going to be like this again..."

"Don't blame me too much. Blame yourself for being so defenseless in the wasteland."

"Defenseless? I don't think so..."

Ian pulled out a cigarette from his front pocket, put it in his mouth, and, in a flash, pushed the gun aiming at him upward with one hand and pulled out his favorite pistol from behind his back with the other, shoving it into the scavenger's grinning mouth. The solid steel barrel shattered the scavenger's yellow teeth and pressed into his throat.

"Choke! Gag! Gag!"

"Hehe. Let's see who's defenseless. Negotiations are over, fools."

Boom!

Bang!

The quiet wasteland was instantly filled with the sounds of explosions and gunfire.

***

Bang!

After the last gunshot, the professor shook his hand as if he was fed up and put away his gun.

"Alright, that's it? Now that you've fired your gun, just shut up and stay put!"

[Oh yeah! That was awesome! Shell! Can I borrow your body for 10 minutes? I just want to touch that 'gun' thing! I want to see it, touch it, and even lick it!]

"Damn, Metal."

The professor wiped the blood off his face with his sleeve and looked around.

The battle itself wasn't long. Outnumbered and surrounded without any cover, their only option was a surprise attack to create chaos.

'Close call.'

After the grenade he threw to the naive scavenger exploded, the professor had already pulled out his shotgun and taken out two of them before their grins turned to panic.

He broke the arm of one of the remaining three, stabbed him in the side, and used him as a human shield to shoot the one holding what looked like a scrap gun.

Just as the last one was about to pull the trigger, the professor tackled him to the ground and, to calm down the party in his head, handed him the AK he was holding and fired a single shot.

While wiping the blood off his face, the professor realized that it wasn't just the blood of the enemies splattered on him; a bullet had grazed his temple, leaving a long, bleeding cut. He hadn't even felt the pain in the heat of battle.

"What's wrong, professor? Did you get hit?"

As he wrapped a bandage around his head, a shadow fell over him, and Ian spoke.